Google CEO: 'happy to pursue' a microblogging deal

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said pursuing a deal with the likes of Twitter would be something that the search giant would be "very happy to pursue."

“Without commenting specifically about Twitter ... you could imagine that ... it could be a channel for product information, marketing information, real-time information for which you can hang advertising products, whether it's a text ad or a video ad or so forth,” he said during Thursday's earnings call. “... It strikes me that's a logical strategy for them to pursue and something that we would be very happy to pursue with them and all other players in that space.”

Many search marketers see this as a step in the right direction.

“Twitter may represent an opportunity to Google in the utilization of Google's interest-based advertising,” said Mark Simon, VP of industry relations at search agency Didit. Because Twitter offers immediate communication and opinions on many topics, he noted, Twitter would offer Google the opportunity to match those Tweets with highly targeted ad units.

He went on to explain other ways that marketers could benefit from a partnership by connecting with their audience 24 hours a day as the product is being talked about. “[It can] even be beneficial in reputation management, especially in response to negative Tweets,” he said.

Simon also believes Twitter could become an ad marketplace based on real-time sales of streaming keywords.

“Google would be a natural fit for managing that market. And when Google has 73% or more of the search market, it should be looking at other areas of growth to open up new horizons,” he said, “Twitter would be one natural candidate to become such a new horizon.”